It’s no secret that the tax and accounting profession has a talent problem. More than
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Tax tech as key to revitalization
While there are no easy, one-size-fits-all solutions to end the accounting talent crisis, corporations and accounting firms can take some steps to address the fundamental challenges that are making it hard to recruit and retain great people. One place to start is with tax tech.
The tax and accounting profession is at the center of a technological revolution that will transform the way we think about research and analytics, determination and forecasting, and global tax compliance. While some news reports have sensationalized the arrival of artificial intelligence and generative AI as a risk for the accounting industry, it represents the biggest opportunity to modernize the profession since the advent of the spreadsheet.
Take, for example, new generative AI research tools that use natural language queries to instantly surface relevant regulatory changes, pending legislation, detailed guidance on new tax laws and breaking industry news that has a bearing on current and future tax obligations.
This seemingly basic task, which serves as the foundation of any tax planning or advisory exercise, used to be the domain of junior associates. They often spent days poring over IRS PDFs, digging through news stories and hopping in-and-out of tax research tools to make sure they had left no stone unturned. It’s a cumbersome, time-consuming process — especially when you have hundreds of returns piled up and deadlines to meet.
The reward for doing a comprehensive search and identifying key variables that could influence tax strategy: more research. The penalty for missing something along the way: a potentially career-ending embarrassment that could result in costly errors for the company or the client.
AI is augmenting, not replacing, jobs
That is not a particularly career-fulfilling proposition. However, with the new breed of generative AI-powered tax research tools, professionals can quickly surface relevant background information knowing that they are covering all bases. This leaves more time for higher-value tasks like forecasting potential impacts to the business based on the information surfaced in the research process.
AI is not taking the associate’s job. It makes associates’ jobs more manageable and gives them the brain space to be creative and contribute higher value insights, and in doing so, leads to greater job satisfaction.
The same phenomenon is playing out in the audit space, where generative AI is helping professionals cover more ground faster. Early AI fear-mongers were quick to suggest the technology would put auditors out of a job.
What we’re finding is that auditors using AI are more effective at their jobs. Instead of reviewing a portion of the audit using sampling methods — a process known to create an opening for errors — auditors using AI can scour every line item to ensure they have a 360-degree view of the entire tax story.
We’ve asked tax and accounting professionals to do too much with too few resources for too long. The burnout shows through high attrition rates and professionals committing highly visible errors. Technology can help by giving professionals the tools they need to stay on top of their day-to-day tasks as well as the freedom to innovate and deliver higher-value contributions to their businesses and clients.
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